A Shade of Vampire 41: A Tide of War(21)

“The end of Nevertide is coming,” Zerus whispered to me as I approached, his voice raspy with fear. “My brother calls for me—he calls for me to save him.”

His dark hair, worn long like Tejus’s, was matted with leaves and mud. He was unshaven, but his cloak and the clothes beneath it were fairly clean. He’d obviously found a stream somewhere to wash himself—which indicated that he wasn’t completely ‘gone’.

“We’ll get you to your brother soon,” I replied in what I hoped was a soothing tone.

He looked even more horrified at that statement, so I changed the subject.

“We’re looking for some jinn—creatures like those two.” I pointed to Horatio and Aisha. “Have you seen anyone resembling them?”

Zerus looked at the jinn inquisitively, as if he was observing their strangeness for the first time.

“I haven’t seen creatures like that.” He shook his head in wonderment. “What did you call them, jinn?”

I nodded.

“I haven’t seen their kind. But this forest is full of strange things…dark powers, whispers. Lights that flash from above, as if they are stars”—he looked up to the mountain range—“and shadows that creep in from the waters. Nevertide is no longer a safe place.”

“What lights?” I asked.

“From the mountains. They come at night—there is power up there.” He shivered and turned away.

“We need to get up to the mountain. Can you show us where you saw the lights?” I asked.

“No! You shouldn’t go up there, human—you should have left this place long ago when Tejus permitted you to leave. Why did you stay?”

I wanted to laugh. Clearly Zerus had been here a while—he’d missed out on a lot. I didn’t think now was the right time to fill him in. “We can offer you help, Zerus. But we need to get to the mountain first—we’re looking for a way to save Nevertide. We believe there are creatures up there that can stop this, stop the entity and the shadow. Please, help us?”

The sentry looked over at our group—two jinn and the three kids who professed they could save his land. He looked doubtful.

“I can lead you to the base of the mountain,” he replied eventually, “and point you in the right direction of the lights, but then you must continue on your own.” He looked despondent for a moment, observing the walls of the pit and the trees that surrounded us.

“I feel there is not much hope for you, little human… Not much hope at all.”





Sherus





I walked slowly to the window, looking for the stars in the rips of the sky. The rest of the land was bathed in a grotesque shade of yellow, as if the sun itself was sick and dying.

Another omen had awoken me—dark and as chilling as the rest, but, as always, with no tangible information that would be of any use to us. My gaze fixed on a single star that blazed through the rip. This single star burned more brightly than the rest. I fancied that it offered hope, a guiding light that told me the rest of the universe was safe—that at least the stars continued to shine, their skies intact, worlds turning as they should.

I wanted to speak to Derek again about the closing of the portal. I knew what I asked was a lot. I had placed a heavy burden on the Novak ruler. If we closed the portal, and could find no way out, then we would most likely perish at the hands of the entity and his army. Was the desolation of GASP too high a price to pay for the safety of the rest of the supernatural realm, Earth and the In-Between?

In my heart of hearts, I thought that it was not.

But then what? What if there came another threat in their absence? Would this decision save the creatures of the dimensions, only to have them perish later?

I turned away from the window. My maudlin fancies, I knew, could drive me close to madness.

Dressing quickly, I left the room, shutting my door behind me. Most of the palace was still active—I could hear the guards and ministers giving orders, and the raucous cries of the human children as they played some game.

Are you willing to lock innocents in here too, Sherus?

I strode with purpose down the corridor toward the main staircase. At the top, I met the jinni queen ascending. I faltered.

“Queen Nuriya.” I bowed respectfully.

“King of the fire fae.” She nodded back, her golden eyes dancing in the dim light of the palace. They reminded me of home—her irises were the very color of the fire opals that decorated my bedchamber.

“You look pale,” she observed. “Has something happened?”

“No more than a dream.” I smiled ruefully.

She frowned, her radiant skin lightly creasing at her forehead. “But these dreams of yours, were they not the very thing that alerted us to the dangers of the entity in the first place? Derek should be informed—it may indicate a shift in the entity’s plans.”